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Help support the vision of Woodland Hills Community Church!
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Tuesday, October 28

Today’s Readings: Psalm 108; Numbers 22:1-21; Matthew 6:7-15; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4; Psalm 8

When I do my daily devotions using Eugene Peterson’s paraphrased version of the Bible, I sometime struggle when a passage I’m familiar with is worded radically different that the way in which I’m use to reading it. At first the struggle between what he paraphrased and what I was familiar with caused me frustration or annoyance; eventually, however, it lead me to a deeper appreciation of Scripture. I have come to appreciate the struggle between what I experience as the new and what I know as the familiar because it draws me deeper into the words by refusing to allow me to take any of those words for granted. Today’s passage from the Gospel of Matthew is a good example of a passage that made me struggle. That’s because the passage contains most of what we know today as the Lord’s Prayer – and it uses radically different language than what I’m use to. Just as I was starting to get grumpy by the new words used for the Lord’s Prayer, I stumbled upon Peterson’s paraphrasing of verses 14-15 – and his paraphrased words put a powerful new spin on my understanding of prayer. Those verses read: “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part” (Matthew 6:14-15 from The Message). Here’s how the text was transformative for me. You see in working with people of faith over the years I’ve realized that many folks think of prayer primarily as an activity designed to change or influence God. Some pray for Aunt Margaret, for instance, in hopes of changing or influencing God’s mind so that God will take away her cancer. Today’s passage invites us to think about prayer differently: not as an activity designed to change or influence God, but an activity designed to change or influence US. The consequence of neglecting our prayer life also takes on a different dimension when factoring in these words. Instead of defining an inactive prayer life simply in moral terms, Peterson’s paraphrase suggests that the consequences of an inactive prayer life is that you cut yourself off from what God is doing in the world. I would encourage you to sit with the paraphrasing of Jesus’ words today and see if they inform your attitude/approach toward prayer and perhaps help jump start your prayer life in new and exciting ways. Til next time…

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